


Stuck

by therealassistant



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Blood and Gore, Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Season/Series 02, Supernatural Elements, brief mentions of abuse later on, its just slight though not very descriptive
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-01-05 15:04:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21210530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/therealassistant/pseuds/therealassistant
Summary: He finds himself getting dragged in, and his wrist slams into the ground, breaking his watch. For the rest of time, he's frozen in time while everything continues moving forward, stuck in  November of 1983 at exactly nine thirty two in the evening.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey so like
> 
> Oh god
> 
> I know I have a lot to finish, like a hell of a lot, but I honestly kind of lost. Interest in a lot of things as of late, and I wanted to write something really different for once. Not to mention, I've recently started college, and I've been super busy with that, but I wanted to write something for Halloween. 
> 
> This is what popped into my mind, and to hell with it, I'm going to role with it. I've written a lot for it already, but like I said, I'm in college right now and I've been super busy with that, so fair warning, updates are gonna be hella painful to do. To be fair, I already have the first two chapters done, and I'll post the next one up when it's tomorrow (or today? It's 1 am) afternoon and I'm settled back into my dorm (I'm on vacation right now. huzzah). I'm gonna try to upload it at least once a month though.
> 
> A few notes about this au before I start, just a few things that aren't the central part of this au that I want to make obvious and a few other things:
> 
> -This fic starts after s1 ends and where s2 begins  
-The sister's plot with Eleven is something I scrapped completely. I don't enjoy that part of season two a single bit, and found it quite boring and bland. If you enjoyed it, I'm glad you found enjoyment in something I didn't, but it's not going to be here. That being said, there will be Eleven soul searching eventually.  
-I started to write this right when I finished season two, and barely started season 3. At this point, I'm done with s3, and rigorously went through it to fix anything that would seem out of character or strange. If I missed anything, please let me know.  
-This is my first time writing something for the stranger thing's franchise, so if anything seems weird, that's one reason why. Like I said before, if anything is weird or OOC, please let me know.  
-Characters and relationships can/will be added as the story progresses or as the author remembers them because the author is kind of. brain dead lol
> 
> All in all, I just hope you all enjoy this fic. It was super fun to write, and I enjoy writing ghost related stuff. Enough of me talking though, let's get onto the damn. fic.

It’s so cold.

It’s cold and cramped, and yet he feels like if he moves another inch, something in his body is going to snap in half, with everything else breaking in quick succession, like dominoes in a line.

Not only that, but there’s a loud pounding inside his head and through his entire neck that doesn’t seem to leave, no matter how many shaky breaths he forces pass his lips. He doesn’t feel anything besides this awful pain, so deep into it that he doesn’t even realize he’s threading his hands through his hair, nearly tearing it out as he breathed. _“S-Stop it…”_

Of course, the pain doesn’t stop, and he slowly curls into a ball, pressing his hands into his scalp, tears finally falling down his face as he once again breathed out, _”P-Please, stop it…”_, his voice now taking on a more raspy tone.

This time, when the pain doesn’t relent, nails finally dig through skin, and he screws his eyes shut even more, curling deeper into a ball as he finally snapped. _“I said **stop!**”_

This time, the pain relents, almost like a rubber band snapping back, leaving behind a dull, almost tingling sensation across his body as he slowly uncurls himself and frees his hands from his hair.

It’s not that cold anymore either. Now, it strangely feels… Lukewarm. Like he started a bath, and only went inside it after the water settled for a few hours.

Even if it’s not freezing cold anymore, it still felt wrong. It’s nice, but it’s not… Normal. The last time he had heard someone describe the weather as ‘lukewarm’, it was his mother trying to insist that doing something in Hawkins when it was over one hundred degrees was okay. An awful experience, especially without sunscreen.

That, and the fact that his pain just suddenly disappeared was also concerning.

Well, at least he can finally move without feeling like a pile of sticks that would shatter at any moment. Slowly, he forces himself to sit up, rubbing his eyelids with his sleeve as he attempts to steady his breathing, quietly muttering to himself. “Alright Harrington, it’s time to calm down… Just take another breath, open your eyes, and…”

It’s only when he opens his eyes does his attempt at getting his breathing steady goes entirely out the window as he sees what looks like the inside of a cabin, covered entirely in dark blue tendrils with some sort of gas filling the area.

Yet his eyes weren’t focused on that, no, the only thing he saw was the large, bloodstained creature in front of him, hunched over and seemed to be eating something.

A creature that was now looking at him, even if it had no eyes.

A creature that opened its face, revealing dozens upon dozens of sharp teeth as it screeched at him, before running in his direction on all fours

In response, Steve did the first, most rational thing that came to mind. Which was to scream and scramble to his feet before running away.

Much to his surprise, he finds it easier to get to his feet if he uses the tendrils to help, crawling just a bit before he finally manages to get to his feet and start sprinting, ramming his entire body into the cabin’s front door, nearly falling to his feet before he steadies himself and continues running, this time into the woods surrounding the cabin.

He doesn’t know where he’s going, he just knows that he needs to get far away from the cabin, as far away from the creature as possible, because whenever he thinks about either of those things a dull pain throbs in his chest which almost makes him collapse in pain and begin to cry but he doesn’t understand. Why would he do these things?

The creature follows behind him, even if he was gaining distance the longer he ran into the forest. As if the creature had physically caught onto his scent, and absolutely wouldn’t let go.

Strangely though, no matter how much he ran, he never lost any stamina, nor did the pain he felt before return. He felt like he could run for the rest of his life if he wanted to.

Thankfully, the monster didn’t seem to share the same trait, as it slowly began to lose him, before it finally gave off one last frustrated roar and retreated back to the direction it came from.

Once he could no longer hear the deafening footsteps of the monster, he began to slow down, eventually stopping and leaning up against a tree as he took long, shaky breaths and finally examined his surroundings.

Just like the cabin though, it’s a place he doesn’t recognize, covered completely in those tendrils.

He looks down at one next to his foot, lightly kicking it with his shoe.

When it convulsed and hissed, he nearly jumped back, tensely watching as it slowly relaxed back into place.

He then gives an audible ew as the tendril makes some sort of goo like noise, absentmindedly wiping his hands off onto his shirt as he looked around, hoping that nothing had gotten on them when he grabbed the tendrils earlier.

That was the least of his growing concerns though, as the more he looked around, the sooner he realized that he was completely, utterly lost in these weird woods.

He leans back against a tree as he tries his best to recall what had happened before he had woken up in the cabin, even if it does bring a dull ache to his head.

He remembers doing the spray painting scheme Tommy had planned with, well, Tommy and Carol.

He remembers fighting Jonathan, and getting his shit kicked in.

He remembers fighting with Tommy and Carol, getting into the car, and beginning his drive to the Byer’s house to apologize to Jonathan and Nancy. He remembers parking, and then getting out of the car, walking to the door, then…

Nothing.

He sighed in frustration as he slid down to the ground, not really caring that much about the tendrils anymore as he stares up at the sky.

The sky that only mounted his frustration, once he noticed that it was completely vacant of stars, or even the moon for that matter.

”Where the fuck am I..?” He mumbled as he ran a hand through his hair, the other bunching into a fist against the Earth beneath him, screwing his eyes shut. ”What the hell even happened..? I just… I want...”

He wanted to apologize. He wanted to get Nancy back. He wanted to rewind time so everything could be perfect again, where he was still friends with Tommy and Carol because he was ignorant of the fact they were assholes and he was still dating Nancy because Barb wasn’t missing and it was all perfect...

... Actually, no, he didn’t want that. At least all of that. He couldn’t be friends with Tommy and Carol anymore, not after today. And Nancy wasn’t going to be with him after today, and he couldn’t really blame her for that, he kind of was acting like an asshole. An asshole that didn’t deserve a nice girl like her.

He didn’t want to think about Barb. Poor fucking Barbara, she was dead, wasn’t she? If he had to guess, it was because of that monster he just saw. Hell, that thing it was eating was probably her.

No, what he really wanted was quite simple, an almost childish request really, yet one that was still all the more important, given the current situation. ”I… I want to go **home**...”

The instant he says those words, there’s a bright flash from behind his eyelids, a burning sensation shooting through his hand. One that causes him to jump and get away from where he was sitting.

Where his hand was before, between a few tendrils, there seemed to be some sort of… Hole?

Slowly, cautiously, he walks over to the hole, before he kneels down next to it and looks inside, careful not to lean his face onto the ground.

His eyes narrowed in confusion when all he sees at first is what looks like the sky. Somewhat similar to the one he saw before, except covered in a dark pink tint thanks to the thin layer in the hole.

He felt his heart leap into his throat once he noticed the sky he was actually seeing was filled with stars, a bright moon overhead and cutting through the darkness.

Was… Was this a way home..?

Hesitantly, he sticks one hand forward, forming it into a fist before he punches through the hole in the ground, expecting some resistance.

Much to his surprise, the material inside the hole had the integrity of wet paper with the texture of spit and slime, and was broken through easily, only for Steve to quickly retract his fist in disgust, bringing with it the thin, goo like membrane that was covering the hole.

He resists the urge to vomit as he attempts to wipe it off on the tree beside him before looking back into the hole, still trying his best to avoid the tendrils.

Thanks to the tear in the layer, he could finally see the outside of the hole more clearly, like the limbs of trees that somewhat blocked the night sky, and the occasional leaf that was blown across the hole. He could even somewhat see the trunk of a tree beside the hole, much similar to the one he was sitting next to now.

The real question was though, was it safe to crawl through this hole? Nothing seemed wrong with his hand now, but could some sort of weird side effects happen in the future?

He got his answer in the form of the monster roaring in the distance.

Whatever he did now, it was probably safer than staying in this hell.

With that, he dives straight into the hole, ignoring the layer’s texture as he tears right through it.

Much to his surprise, he had to pull himself out of the hole after he had lost his forward momentum, grabbing the roots of the tree trunk beside him to help pull him out the rest of the way quickly, just in case the monster somehow knew where he was.

Thankfully, he manages to crawl out of the hole fast enough, giving a frustrated and tired huff as he now lays against the trunk, arms crossed and staring at the sky above.

It takes him a few moments to realize that he was completely and utterly exhausted, and that his eyes couldn’t stay open for much longer.

At first, he tries to fight it off. After all, he had just woken up not that long ago, why go to sleep again so soon?

”... Fuck it. You know what? I deserve a nap after all that shit.” Besides, what was that monster going to do, go through the hole? Damn thing didn’t even have eyes, how the hell was it going to find it?

With that thought, Steve allowed his eyes to shut, quickly falling asleep as he leaned back against the trunk.

He doesn’t notice that the hole besides him shuts the instant he falls asleep, vanishing off the face of the Earth.

Neither does he realize how long he would truly be asleep for.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's the promised chapter. from now on, like I said, I'll be quite busy, but I'll still try to update once a month. Hope ya'll enjoy
> 
> warning for: gore

The next time Steve opens his eyes, it’s snowing.

He’s mesmerized for a few minutes as he watched the snowflakes fall, sometimes falling on him and adding to the already somewhat thick layer of snow, or on the ground around him.

It’s only when it finally hits him that, holy fuck, it’s actually snowing and there’s a thin layer on him, that he sits up and glares down at the watch on his wrist to check the time.

All that stares back is a cracked face, with the hands trapped at nine thirty two in the evening.

He feels his stomach sink at the sight. It had been one of the only presents his father had actually seemed to put thought into giving, and here he was, somehow getting the thing broken without even knowing how.

He ran his hands through his hair as he groaned, lifting the snow off his body and having it either fall onto the ground or anywhere else on him.

It feels like forever until he can breath again, but once he does, he forces himself to relax. ”I can just get someone to repair it, right? Maybe… Maybe Mom knows someone? God, I just hope that…”

His voice trails off once he finally sees the person in the distance staring at him.

To be fair, they’re not that far. Only a stone's throw away, hiding behind a tree, and he doesn’t know how long they’ve been staring at him, but from the few seconds he sees them, it creeps him out.

Still, it’s a relief to see someone that isn’t that giant monster, and he allows that relief to overtake him as he waves. ”Hey,” he yells as he slowly gets to his feet, ignoring the snow falling off his body, not noticing how the person behind the tree tensed at his voice. ”How long have you been staring at-?“

He’s interrupted as something shoots up from the ground towards him. On instinct, he raises his hands to protect his face, screwing his eyes shut and preparing himself for the impact and the pain that would follow.

... Neither of which came.

He slowly opened his eyes, lowering his arms to see the person behind the tree… A little girl? Staring up at him in both shock and fear.

To be honest, Steve felt the same way. He was pretty sure that whatever… That thing was, it was flying straight towards his head. How come he didn’t feel any pain? Did he even get hit? And how the hell did whatever that was move so fast and start flying in the first place?

He’s about to ask those questions when the girl suddenly turns and runs right back into the forest.

For a few seconds, he stands there, stupefied, before he scowls, and quickly runs after her. ”Hey! Get back here!”

The girl doesn’t stop running, not even turning around as she leapt through bushes and exposed roots. Thankfully, even if she was a little weird, she wasn’t a fast runner, and Steve easily caught up to her, tackling her to the ground.

It’s a little too late once he realizes that he probably shouldn’t have done that, as he could feel that she was quite frail as he wrapped his arms around her. Thankfully, he was the one that landed on the ground, taking the brunt of the fall, while the girl struggled in his grasp.

He gave an exasperated sigh as he tightened his grip, before narrowing his eyes down at the kid. “Hey, stop fucking squirming! I just want to talk, alright?”

The girl, not at all reassured by his words, only struggled more, slamming her fists into his arms. Fists he, oddly, didn’t feel. “Let me go..! Let me go!”

Huh, so the kid could talk. He was starting to think that she was just some wild kid that grew up in the woods. Something that wasn’t likely, yes, but after seeing that monster, he thought anything was possible.

Still, he tightened his grip a little bit, forcing himself to sit up as he shook his head. “No way, kid. I’m not letting you go until we talk, alright?”

Surprisingly, the girl slowly stopped struggling until she was limp, yet she still glared up at him. “... Promise?”

Once again, Steve gave an exasperated sigh as he nodded. “Yeah, sure kid. I promise.”

He’s surprised at how quickly the girl relaxes once she hears that, no longer glaring as she stared at the snow-covered log in front of them. “... Alright, talk.”

It’s then that he realizes that, even with all the questions he had, he had no idea where the hell he should even start. He glares down at the girl as he thinks, biting his lip as he thought.

Out of all the people he could bump into first, why did it have to be some kid..? While ‘small child I found in the woods’ wasn’t even on the list of people he would interrogate, he would have to assume that they would be pretty low on that list. Right above weird monster, and below Tommy and Carol.

Still, it was better than nothing, and after thinking, he finally settles on a question. “What was that… What exactly happened a few minutes ago..?”

The girl seemed confused for a second, tilting her head to the side as she looks up at him, before realization seems to dawn in her eyes, and she stares ahead once again. “... Tried to throw the log at you…”

”Alright…” Steve sighs as he adjusts his grip on the girl, just to make sure he wasn’t losing it. “I’m gonna ignore the part about how you tried to hurt me, but I mean… How did you throw it? I was literally looking at you, and you didn’t pick up anything.”

The girl is quiet for a few minutes once again before she responds, this time mumbling into his sleeve a bit. “Didn’t need to touch it…”

Now it was Steve’s turn to stare down at the girl in confusion, who still looked ahead of her, as if patiently waiting for him to continue. “... Wait, wait wait wait. So you just…” He stops for a moment, his confusion only growing, wanting to turn the girl around but having a feeling how uncomfortable it would be for him to still hold and face her at the same time. “... You moved it with your mind or something? No tricks?”

The girl responded quickly this time as she shakes her head. “No tricks.”

”... Well, you should be lucky I met a weird monster today. Or I wouldn’t believe you.” He sighed as he shut his eyes, wanting to lean back to rest again, but knowing there was nothing to lean on. “I mean, you still missed, so it doesn’t really matter. So I guess I forgive you for… Trying to mind bludgeon with a log-?”

”Didn’t miss.”

Steve lazily opened his eyes at the girl’s voice. “Hm?”

The girl was looking at him again, face devoid of any emotions. “Didn’t miss. It hit you.”

Steve stared at the girl for a few moments longer before he chuckled, shaking his head as he shut his eyes again. “Listen kid, it didn’t hit me. If it did, I wouldn’t be standing right now. Now-”

He stops as he hears rustling beside him, his eyes snapping open and turning to see something flying in his direction.

He doesn’t have enough time to raise his hands this time, only able to watch as the object flew into his direction and-

What he feels next is strange. It feels like air being pushed against his face, or like a pillow is being gently pushed against his head, but the sensation lasts for a second before it's gone, and the object disappears.

He turns around to see the object, a rock, slam into the tree, the bark nearly exploding in all directions while the rock imbeds itself into the tree.

He stares at the rock for a moment, before he finally lets go of the girl. She doesn’t move as he touches his face, trying to see if there was something wrong with it.

Yet he doesn’t feel anything weird or unusual, his breathing growing ragged as he looks up at the girl, hands still on his face, checking to see if there was anything wrong. “H-Hey, what the fuck did you just do?”

The girl looks at him in confusion, tilting her head just a bit as she leaned away from him slightly. “... D-Did what..?”

”You know! Don’t fucking lie to me!” He grabbed the girl before she could move back, his hands grabbing her shoulders before he lightly shook her. “What the fuck did you do to me?!”

The fear from when she first saw him returned, her eyes wide as she once again squirmed in his grasp, trying to push him away. “D-Didn’t do anything! I didn’t-”

”Bullshit!” He nearly snarled as he glared down at her, no longer shaking her but still holding onto her tightly. “Tell me, what did you do?! Did…” His eyes narrowed now. “Did you throw me down in there with that monster-?”

He stopped as the girl finally managed to hit his chest, and for the first time, pain shot through him, causing him to finally recoil back and let go of the girl.

It feels like his chest has been ripped open,leaving behind a freezing sensation, and when he does look down, he sees that it actually is. Most of the middle of his shirt has been ripped apart into shreds, with next to no skin underneath. Any part of his skin that should be visible, there is instead red muscle and exposed vitals, a gaping cavity in his chest.

He gags once he sees that his heart is actually visible behind a slightly torn rib cage, although parts of it seem to be shredded or missing. “O-Oh god…”

It’s then that he realizes he can barely talk, as something seems to catch in his throat, raising one hand to his throat as the other went to his head.

He barely notices how his head suddenly feels wet from something as he removes his hand from his throat, seeing it coated in blood.

Ah, that explains why he couldn’t talk. Better question though, how the hell was he even alive?

He finds himself coughing as he lays against the ground in pain, his panic and confusion only growing once he saw that he was coughing up blood, and after staying in the snow for a few seconds, it instantly vanishes.

What the hell was happening to him?

He wraps his arms around his chest in some attempt to stop the pain and to stop himself from shivering at the sudden cold sensation slowly spreading across his tired body, but also to stop himself from looking at the cavity in his chest. The one that should be killing him but somehow isn’t.

At the rate this was going, he was slowly starting to wish he was dead. He probably should have let that monster eat him, then he wouldn’t be here, having a breakdown in the middle of the woods with some stranger.

His panicked thoughts are cut off once he feels a warm sensation on his arm, and he freezes up completely, his head snapping up, his eyes opening to see the girl sitting beside him, hand grabbing at his sleeve, blood slowly falling down her nose.

He stares at her, as if her presence was some sort of anchor, his mind suddenly detached from the pain, until her eyes seemed to roll into the back of her head, and she falls over.

He quickly sat up, concern laced in his voice as he gently shakes the girl. “Shit, kid! Are you okay?!”

It’s only then that he notices that the cavity in his chest is done, his shirt now intact once again.

He removes one hand from the girl’s side to place a hand to his throat, removing it to look down and see that no blood came with it this time.

Whatever that girl did, she seemed to have… Was fixed the proper word to use here? Whatever she had done, he was back to normal.

He stares down at the girl, one hand still rubbing his throat while the other held onto the dirty sleeve of her wool jacket. Was what happened to her… Something she could do? She could fix it, of course, but that didn’t explain how he didn’t just die from the wounds, or how it even happened in the first place.

After a few seconds, he sighs, using his hand to wipe the blood off her face before he gently picks her up bridal style. Whatever she did, he couldn’t just leave her passed out in the cold like this.

###### 

He had found what he believes is her camp only a short distance away from where she had passed out at. Unfortunately, she had nothing besides a small, thin blanket for bedding. Where she even found something like that in the woods, he could only assume she stole it from someone.

Either way, he tried his best to make sure she was warm while he waited for her to wake up, sitting on a fallen tree as he stares down at his hands for what feels like hours.

He looks them over, before looking down at the watch. The watch, still cracked and the hands unmoving, read nine thirty two in the evening.

He gave a frustrated sigh, shaking his head as he looks up at the afternoon sky. Clearly, not the time on the watch, and he didn’t remember a time lately that he could have broken it…

Wait, no, there was the Byer’s house. It was around nighttime when he went there, and everything after knocking on the door was just fuzzy.

He screwed his eyes shut, digging his palms into his eyes as he mumbled to himself. “Alright Harrington, think. Fucking think. You drove into his driveway, knocked on his door, then-”

_He’s running out of the house, out of breath. He can’t believe Nancy actually pulled a gun on him like that. He was just trying to apologize, and he got dragged into some bullshit concerning some weird thing that apparently wanted to kill them, and now this? Talk about a shitty night._

_Still, he doesn’t complain when she tells him to run, and he does, slamming the door open as he makes a break for his car._

_He barely gets halfway when something reaches out of the ground beneath him, grabbing onto his foot, causing him to trip and fall, his face slamming into the ground._

_It only makes the headache he had gotten from fighting Jonathan earlier worse, his vision beyond blurry, but still managing to dig his hands into the ground in some vain attempt to stay where he was._

_It doesn’t work as something digs into his leg, causing him to scream out in pain, his vision going from blurry to red. He barely hears the sound of a door slamming open as he’s slowly dragged into the crack in the Earth. “Steve!”_

_He turns around to see Nancy on the patio, staring at him in horror while Jonathan stands in the doorway behind her, the same expression on his face._

_If he could, he’d yell out to them, but his head is too fuzzy to form words as he simply stares back at them. Watching as Jonathan seems to snap out of his stupor, sprinting forward with the bat covered in nails._

_Too late. Steve barely sees the bat collide with the Earth before he’s dragged into the hole._

_Clawed hands slam him into the ground, one digging into his chest as the other pins one arm to the ground. His vision is obscured by a mouth full of teeth._

_It’s the very last thing he sees before it clamps over his head, his muffled screams the last thing he hears as-_

He takes a sharp breath as the sound of shuffling snaps him out of the memory, turning to see the girl slowly sitting up, barely feeling the tears on his face as he clamped his hands over his head, as if to check to see if it was still there.

For a few minutes, the two stare at each other, the only sound being the wildlife around them, slowly falling to sleep due to the setting sun.

Suddenly, Steve finds himself laughing, his entire body shaking as he curled in on himself a bit, hands still clamped around his head. “H-Holy shit… Holy shit, I’m…” Another laugh, his hands gripping his head tighter as he shut his eyes. “I’m dead… I got eaten by that monster… God fucking…”

His voice slowly died off, as well as his laughter, replaced by more tears as he curled in on himself further. What was he supposed to do now that he was dead? Just go around haunting people? Or was he just supposed to run away from that monster for the rest of his life? God, what if it actually was still looking for him..?

What about his family? His mom and dad weren’t even home right now. How long would it be before they got the news that he was dead? Who would tell them the news? Would they actually be sad? Would-?

His thoughts are cut off as he feels a slight pressure on his arm, looking up to the girl, who seemed somewhat uncomfortable as she gripped tightly onto his sleeve.

He forces himself to take a deep breath, using his free sleeve to wipe at his face as he mumbled. “S-Sorry…”

The grip on his sleeve grows tighter at his words, and the girl tugs on his sleeve. He looks up to see her shaking her head, that discomfort from before still there, but also mixed in with… Pity? Some emotion he doesn’t recognize, as there was so little. “It’s okay... Friends… Friends can cry in front of friends…”

Steve scoffed at this. “Friends? Kid, I don’t even know your name…”

The girl tilted her head at this, a flash of surprise on her face, as if she forgot that fact entirely, before she quickly holds out her other hand. “Eleven.”

Steve stared down at the hand. He blinked quickly a few times, half expecting it to be gone after he gets the tears out of his eyes, only for the hand to remain.

He then looked up at the girl, his confusion only growing. “... Eleven what?”

The girl shook her head, moving his arm by tugging on his sleeve, until eventually his hand was on her shoulder. “Eleven.”

”... Your name’s Eleven?”

The girl nods, and Steve can’t help but give a small chuckle at that. “You know, out of everything, that’s probably the weirdest thing about you.” Before the girl had the chance to respond, he finally shook her outstretched hand. “The name’s Steve Harrington.”

The girl flinches just a bit at the sudden handshake, but quickly relaxes, tilting her head to the side as she mumbled. “Steve..?”

He nodded as he let go of her hand, crossing both of his arms across his chest. “Yep, that’s my name. Don’t wear it out. Now, what the hell is some kid doing out in the middle of nowhere?”

He didn’t know why he asked that. It was probably none of his business. But honestly, he just wanted to keep the discussion off him for as long as possible. Thankfully, Eleven just goes along with his question with a quick answer. “Home.”

”... Wait, so you just… Live outside? How long have you been doing this?”

The girl shrugs in response, which only mounts his concern. “What do you mean you don’t know? Isn’t there anyone out there you could go to?”

Eleven begins to shake her head again, before she stops. “One person… Maybe.”

With that, Steve nods, dusting the snow that fell on him as he stood up. “Alright then, let’s go find this guy-”

He stops once Eleven grabs his arm. “No… Danger.”

He looks down at Eleven, who had both hands wrapped around his arm, nearly grabbing his broken watch. “... You mean it might be dangerous to find this guy?” A nod from the girl. “Well, that’s why I’m going with you. If anything bad happens, I’ll protect you, alright?”

How he was going to do that when he’s dead, he had no idea, but the girl seemed content with this, loosening her grip on his arm just enough so she allowed him to move. “Okay…”

Steve inwardly sighed in relief. He had a feeling that the girl was going to argue, and he honestly didn’t think he would win that argument, even if she didn’t talk that much. “Good. Do you, uh…” He glances over towards the blanket on the ground, and the remnants of the small fire beside it. “... Do you have anything to take with you?”

When the girl shook her head, Steve stared down at her for a moment, before giving a sharp nod. “You know what, nothing is okay. It just means we can move faster. Right.” He takes a few steps forward, before Eleven tugs on his sleeve again. When he looks down, she nods in a different direction, and he gave a sheepish laugh. “Sorry. You should probably be leading the way.”

She doesn’t laugh in response, only nodding back before she begins to walk, gently tugging Steve behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> now that's the normal length of what i write babey!!!
> 
> if anyone wants a visual on what exactly Steve's death looks like, i did model it after the demogorgon's mori in dead by daylight. It's on youtube, so just look up "demogorgon's mori" if you want to see.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this update. Feedback is welcomed/appreciated, and I hope you all have a wonderful day!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: I'll update once a month  
me: *posts on the last day of the month*
> 
> in my defense im studying for finals right now
> 
> and it's 1 am rn so this is probably badly edited wooooooowe
> 
> hope yall had a happy turkey day. here's to a happy holidays.

If there was one thing he was thankful for right now, it was that he didn’t get tired or out of breath anymore. After walking for two hours straight, he didn’t need to stop once for a break, occasionally even carrying Eleven just so she could rest for a bit.

Still, it feels weird. It makes him feel like he doesn’t need to breathe, which feels wrong, and even when he does, no mist comes out of his mouth. There were even a few times where he realized that he hadn’t been breathing for awhile, and he had forced himself to take a deep breathe.

Of course, that earned him a weird look from Eleven, who had the same look of little concern each time she turned to glance back at him. Thankfully, she didn’t say anything, only staring at him before turning back around.

A silence that he was content with, even though he used to hate it. Silence reminded him of how empty his house was, it reminded him of looking through the window to see Jonathan with Nancy, and it reminded him of the car ride he took to the Byer’s house, Tommy and Carol’s usual seats for once vacant.

... Actually, he hated this, but what exactly was he supposed to do? He knew no conversation starters for this girl, but maybe she knew some music? He could probably hum or whistle something, it was just a matter of whether or not he could remember enough of the song. Maybe she’ll recognize it and they could talk over that.

... What kind of music do weird kids who live in a forest even like? Do they even listen to music?

The silence is cut through before he has the chance to decide on a song.

”... So, dead?”

He stares down at the girl in front of him for a moment, who doesn’t look behind her at all. “... That’s a weird, rude way to ask. But yes, I’m dead.”

The girl doesn’t say anything for a moment, still looking straight ahead as she continued to walk. “... How?”

Steve found himself stumbling for a second at the question, stuttering at the sheer bluntness of it. “Wh-Why would-? Don’t you think that’s a really personal question?! You don’t just go around asking people how they died!”

The girl finally stares at him, looking behind her before she finally stops. So sudden that he nearly walks into her. “... Why?”

More stuttering on his part. “B-Because! … B-Because…” He trails off once he realizes he doesn’t quite have a good explanation for that. At least one that would be easy to explain to this girl. “... I-It’s like if I asked you why you live in the forest! It’s a personal question.”

Once again she stares at him, before she tilts her head. “... You asked me that.”

Steve blanks for a moment, not knowing what to say at first before giving a sheepish laugh. “I-I did..?” He thinks about it for a moment longer, before he slumps forward a bit, sheepish laugh replaced by a small frown. “... I did.”

The girl nodded before she resumes her lead through the forest, with Steve following her lead shortly thereafter.

The silence settles back in, more awkward and uncomfortable than before, and he honestly can’t stand it at this point. He needs to say something, anything at all to break this silence.

”... So, who are we looking for exactly?”

He had asked the question without thinking, but it made sense the more he put some thought into it. It was probably a good idea for Eleven to tell him about this guy, or else he’d probably end up thinking any random schmuck he comes across is the right one.

Eleven seemed to think the same thing as well, as she quickly responds. “... Tall man.” She pauses, before raising a hand to her face. “... Hairy face.”

”... Hairy face? You mean a beard, right?”

The girl once again stopped, looking up at Steve in clear confusion as she tilted her head to the side. “... Beard?”

Steve couldn’t help but give a laugh at that. “Do you seriously not know what a beard is? It’s a type of facial hair that guys have on their chin.” He then holds a finger sideways above his lip. “And this is a mustache.”

The girl’s eyes seemed to light up in understanding as she quickly nodded. “Yes. Had that too.”

He nodded as he lowered his arm back to his side. “Alright. So it’s a guy with a goatee… Which is probably anyone that actually lives in the woods.” He can’t help the frustrated sigh as he slumps forward a bit. “... This is going to take forever.” He then looks up slightly, his frown growing once he saw the darkened sky. “... And it’s almost night time. I mean, I don’t think I need to sleep or anything, but it’s probably bad for you if-”

He’s suddenly stopped as something grabs his arm, causing him to nearly trip, about to give an annoyed shout until he realized that he had actually began to walk in front of Eleven, and that she was now glaring up at him. “... Quiet.”

He narrowed his eyes back in response, pulling his arm out of her grip. Despite his clear annoyance though, he still lowered his voice to a hiss. “What?”

She slaps his arm, still glaring at him as she raised a finger to her lips, before walking forward again, trying her best not to step on any branches.

Steve watched her for a moment before he shook his head, rolling his eyes, but still followed anyway, hunched over just a bit, as if to hide. If she trusted this guy, why would she hide herself from him?

... Actually, wait, she said it was dangerous to find this guy, not that the guy was dangerous. So maybe it might bring more harm than good for her to find this guy..? No, because that would mean she would be living in the woods for the rest of her life. But her living in the woods might give her a longer lifespan than seeing this guy…

”... What the hell did I get myself into..?”

He flinches as Eleven slaps his arm again, even if he felt nothing.

The silence returns quickly, yet it’s more tense this time than awkward. For some reason, Steve feels like he’s being watched by something. It’s ridiculous, how he’s dead and still worrying about something hurting him. It’s the same thing with his breathing. He doesn’t need to, yet he panics each time he forgets he is, and he can’t help the choking sensation once he notices.

The feeling quickly ends, thankfully, in the form of Eleven holding a hand up to stop him. This time though, he sees the reason why she stops him before she actually does, despite the darkness that was slowly creeping in.

It’s a silhouette walking between the trees, one of a tall man wearing a stupid cowboy hat. A stupid cowboy hat that only one person would wear in Hawkins.

”... Is that Chief Hopper?”

The girl doesn’t attempt to hush him this time, nodding as she continued to stare at the man, who was taking a knee in front of… Something Steve couldn’t see.

Steve watched the man for a few seconds more before he took a deep breath, finally standing up straight. “Alright, let’s go talk to him.”

He doesn’t see Eleven’s eyes widen as he walks forward, nor does she see the outstretched hand as she tries to stop him. “Don’t-!” 

Steve freezes up as Hopper looks up towards him, yet it doesn’t feel right. It’s not like Hopper is looking at him, but right through him. Like he’s not even there.

Steve feels the panic in his chest, yet he quickly tries to push it down. No, no, Hopper can see him. He has to. He’s dead, sure, but he’s real. He exists. He’s here, dammit. Standing in the snow with some random kid in the woods.

He raises a hand, waving at Hopper in an almost frantic motion as he yells out. “Hopper! Hey, it’s me, Steve Harrington!”

”... Can’t see.”

Steve flinches back at the words, looking down to see that Eleven had, at some point, went to stand beside him. The girl stared at Hopper, watching as the man looked at her in confusion and didn’t take a glance at Steve. “... Eleven..?”

Steve glared down at the girl, shaking his head as he nearly hissed. “No dammit, he has to see me, okay? I’m not… I’m dead, but you can see me! So he… He has to…”

He trails off as Hopper approaches, still not even looking at Steve as he kneeled in front of Eleven, placing his hands on her shoulders as he looked her over, before giving a sigh in what sounds like relief. “... Where have you been all this time?”

The words feel like a stab to Steve’s heart, and he has to lean on a tree beside him as he stared dumbly at the two, with Eleven still looking up at Steve as Hopper talked to her, saying things Steve could only hear as static. Yet Eleven’s words were still clear as day as she stared at him with that slightly horrified look in her eyes. “... Can’t see.”

###### 

Steve will give Hopper one thing about this cabin, it’s actually kind of comfy. Sure, it kind of reminds him of the Byer’s house, which was one of the last places he ever wanted to be now, but it had an air of comfort to it. One that he wasn’t really used to, but welcomed nonetheless.

The car ride there was anything but, after Eleven had stood outside while Steve climbed in, Hopper watched in confusion as Eleven seemed to wait outside his car for no reason. Thankfully, Hopper seemed to just chalk it up to her being hesitant, and didn’t question her about it.

Still, it was hard to get out of the car as well, and Steve could only hope that he wouldn’t have to go through anything like that again so a door wouldn’t “magically” open in front of Hopper. Hopefully he could do more ghost like things like on-command phasing. It would suck if the only thing he got out of being dead was that he didn’t need to breath, he could randomly go through stuff, and that no one could see him besides some random kid.

A thing he was finding increasingly awkward as he sat in a chair in Eleven’s new room, with Hopper putting the kid into the bed, tucking her in as he mumbled. “You should get some rest, because in the morning, we’re going to have a long talk about what happened.”

Eleven glanced at Steve before she nodded, and Steve didn’t understand why. Yet it’s not like he could ask her now, since she would probably look crazy, talking to nothing.

God, this sucks though. He wanted to ask Hopper what happened after he had died. Did his parents find out? What about his friends? Did they ever find his body?

He shivers at the last question. After what he saw in his memories, he didn’t really want to think about what happened to his body right now.

Thankfully, he’s snapped out of his train of thought as the lights in the room are turned off, and the door to Eleven’s new room is shut.

Steve waits in the chair for a few seconds before he stands, walking over to the bed before kneeling beside it. “... You doing better kid?”

The girl waits a moment before she nods, sinking deeper into her covers before she speaks, voice muffled a bit by the blanket. “... Can’t see.”

Steve gave a tired sigh as he shut his eyes for a moment, before he nodded his head. “Yes, I know. He can’t see me.”

”... Tell him you’re here-?”

”No!” He instantly regrets yelling as Eleven flinches. “Shit, sorry. I just.” Another sigh as he looks off to the side, head on his hand as he thought. “... How do we tell him that without sounding crazy? ‘Hey, there’s the ghost of a dead boy, and only I can see him’.” He turns back to her. “You know how crazy that sounds?”

Eleven stares at him for a moment before shaking her head, dragging another sigh from him. “Okay, I don’t know why I’m asking you that. You can move stuff with your mind. Point is, Hopper won’t believe it. So we’re not gonna tell him I’m here.”

Eleven remains quiet as she thinks, before her eyes widened as she realized something. “... Lie?”

Steve shrugged at that. “Yeah, I guess it is a lie.”

She shakes her head at that, moving a bit out of the covers. “Friends… Don’t lie…”

Steve mentally curses as he shakes his head, gently moving the covers back over her as he spoke. “It’s not really a lie. We’re just…” He trails off for a moment as he scrambles for an explanation, before finally settling on, “We just have to wait for a better time. He just found you, he doesn’t need any more trouble on his plate.”

Despite his awful excuse, she seems to accept it, relaxing back into her covers. “... Okay… We wait.”

Steve nodded at that, finally standing to his feet before stretching. Even if he couldn’t feel pain, he somehow feels sore, and it’s just another thing on the list of things he hates about being dead. “Yep, and I’ll stay here to make sure you don’t get hurt or something.” And also because he has no idea where they are, and he has no way to get back to Hawkins.

The girl nods at his words, her eyes slowly drifting shut as she mumbled. “... Thank you…”

For a second, he’s taken aback by her thanks, before he quickly collects himself.

He doesn’t know how to react to the words. It’s been awhile since someone had thanked him like that so suddenly, and not in a sarcastic manner to boot. He doesn’t even have the chance to respond before she’s asleep, light snoring heard under the covers.

He watches her for a moment before he sits back down on his chair, leaning back on it as he stared at the ceiling.

Finally, for the first time that day, his mind was calm. He could think clearly about what happened to him, and wonder about his future as well.

Yet his mind was oddly blank as he stared up at the wooden ceiling, giving an annoyed huff at that, now looking around the room to see if there was anything to do. He couldn’t just sit there for the night and do nothing. He didn’t even know if he could sleep again, mostly because he didn’t feel tired at all despite everything that happened today.

Eventually, his eyes land on a book resting on top of the cabinet besides the bed. After a few seconds of debate, he quietly grabs it, and gives a sigh in relief once he sees that he could actually read the text in the dark.

Guess that was one good thing about being dead.

He doesn’t bother reading the cover, instead opening to the first page, allowing the contents of the page, as well as the rest of the book, to fill his mind for the rest of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Might be able to post twice next month due to holidays. No promises of that, but there will be the usual chapter next month at the very least.
> 
> Once again, happy late turkey day. Thank you for reading, feedback is welcomed/appreciated. And I hope you all have a wonderful day


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ha remember when i said that i was going to update this monthly? whoops. first update of 2020 here we go
> 
> In all honesty, college and the holidays got to me. not to mention that something important came up with some of my family and it became an emergency and i just had no time to write so w h o o p s
> 
> So to make up for it, I offer this somewhat longer than usual chapter. I kind of wanted it to be slice of lifey and didn't want to do a simple timeskip because I had a lot of scenarios in mind for these two over the year between s1 and s2. That being said, I also wanted to include Plot (originally the last part was supposed to be part of another chapter altogether but i decided not to make it that way since it isn't quite part of the events of s2, with s2 starting to come up next chapter). a part of the reason why this chapter took so long is because i had so many slice of life ideas in mind that I didn't know which ones to write lmao
> 
> Anyway, I hope the ones I picked are fun to read. Will I ever write the other scenarios I have in mind? Maybe if I have the time.
> 
> In the end, I hope you all enjoy. Sorry for the long wait. All of your comments literally made my day so much brighter, and I loved reading them so much. I hope to please.

It took him a few tries, but after a bit of effort, Steve finally managed to put the final box on top of the fridge. He smirked as he clapped the non existent dust off his hands, turning to Eleven, who was sitting on the couch, long ago finished with moving all the stuff she needed to move. “Y’see that? Pure skill, no telepathy required.”

Still, she looked unimpressed, moving a bit to look at the now visible clock behind him. “... Took too long.”

He looked down at his watch, only to be reminded that it was broken due to the shattered glass and unmoving hands. He scoffed at that before he turned to look at the clock. “... It’s only been three minutes.”

He turns to see Eleven shrug, grabbing the remote off the table in front of her before she turns on the TV. “I finished in one. Know what that means?”

He gives a frustrated sigh, yet still joins her on the couch anyway. “Yeah, I know. You get to pick what we watch.”

He numbly watches as Eleven scrolls through the channels, barely registering in his mind, before he realized something, narrowing his eyes as he glared at Eleven. “Wait, since when could you tell the time like that?”

He’s surprised at how smug her smile is, yet she still doesn’t look at him as she responds, focusing on clicking through the channels. “Learned. Don’t just stare at books like you do.”

Steve lightly pushed her at that remark, barely moving her. “Hey, I knew how to tell the time before you did. You can brag when you can actually read without my help.”

It was true though. He’s read more in the past two months than he has ever in his life. If someone had told him before all of this that after he died, he would spend most of his time reading, he’d probably laugh in their face and tell them to fuck off for saying stupid shit like that.

Yet whenever Hopper was at the cabin, which was most of the time now, he couldn’t really do anything besides hide in Eleven’s room and read whatever he could find. Eleven had at first tried to leave the doors open so he could move room to room without a door ‘magically’ opening, but apparently it was something Hopper despised. Something he found out after he was trapped inside a spare room for half a day after Hopper shut said door to the room.

Eventually, Steve told Eleven that he was just content with reading in her room while Hopper was at the cabin. He wouldn’t be there to make it awkward, and it was one of the only rooms Hopper never went inside.

Still, there were these rare moments where they both knew Hopper wouldn’t be home for the day due to work, and they both had a chance to simply relax. Granted, they had to clean out the cabin first before setting up a TV, and just to walk around the cabin in general. It didn’t take that long though. In the few months they’ve lived in the cabin, cleaning it only took a few weeks with the help of a ghost, a girl with telepathy, and a police chief that occasionally helped, but for now mostly came to check up on Eleven and make sure she was alive and well.

A task that they just finished now, yet one that Steve didn’t really enjoy accomplishing as Eleven finally settles on Jeopardy. He sinks into the couch just a bit as he duly watches it, but he doesn’t verbally complain. Even if he did have the remote, he probably wouldn’t be able to find something both of them could watch anyway. Eleven might have no taste to speak of, but he had a feeling she would dislike the kind of stuff he watches.

As he watches the TV though, he feels like he’s going to sleep again for the first time in two months. He slowly feels his eyes shut, head leaning against a fist as his elbow is placed atop of the couch’s arm…

”... Steve?”

Steve feels his vision refocusing at the sudden voice, lifting his head up a bit to face the other girl as he gave a hum in question.

The girl on the couch tilts her head a bit as she thinks, still staring straight at the TV, arms wrapped around her legs in a ball. “... Do you have a family?”

Even if he knew he didn’t have a heart anymore, it still feels like one stopped in his chest at the question.

He’s half tempted to not answer, to turn away and ignore it completely.

And while he does turn away, placing his head back onto his fist, he doesn’t remain silent. He was dead anyway, it’s not like what he was mattered anymore. “Yeah. Why are you asking?”

”Where?”

The frown only grows on his face, and he finally sits up to face the girl completely. “Kid, you know how we talked about how some things are too personal to talk about? Remember what personal means?”

He can see Eleven scrunch her face a bit as she thinks, and he’s barely able to hold back a laugh at the sight. He had to be the adult here, he had to be serious to get the point across.

Finally, after what feels like forever, she speaks. “... Means… Hurts to talk about…”

”I mean…” He shrugs, leaning back into the couch just a bit as he sighed, arms now crossed. “... I guess that’s one way to put it. Gold star.” For a few seconds more, the sound of Jeopardy the only thing filling the room.

“... Actually.” Steve glances away from the TV to look at the girl, still in the same position as before, save for a neutral expression. “You never answered my question. Why did you ask me that?”

Without pause, she responds. “Personal.”

This time, Steve can’t help the laugh that leaves his mouth, raising a hand to ruffle what little hair the girl had. “Alright, you got me. I walked right into that one.”

Eleven tries to push the hand back, giving sharp protests as she grabbed onto his arm to push him off. “Stop! Cold!”

Despite her protests, she is also smiling as she tries to bat his hand away, and he finds his smile growing as he gets just a bit closer. “Really? You think that’s cold? C’mere, I’ll show you cold!”

With that, he attempts to grab her into a hug, something she easily avoids as she gets up, her laughter only growing as she shook her head. “N-No, don’t!”

As he gets to his feet, the girl quickly runs away to another room, with Steve quickly following, yelling behind her. “Hey, get back here! You’re the one that’s been complaining about how hot it is!”

The rest of the day is full of laughter and lightful jabs, ones that echo around the cabin and fill it with joy. This is one moment that, despite it not being apart of Steve’s actual life, is one he would remember in the upcoming months, and what transpires after them.

###### 

”... Wait, so it’s…” He draws onto the paper once again, this time it being a line, followed by a dot, and then two other lines. “Like this?”

Eleven looks over the paper, looking it up and down, even if the dots and lines are only on the upper half of the paper. “... Uneven.”

Steve groans, dragging the paper back to him as he mumbled. “Okay, now you’re just being too critical…”

Eleven looks at him in confusion at the word, and Steve can’t help but sigh at the confused look, already having a feeling what she was confused about. “Critical means that... God, I dunno how to explain this.” He runs a hand through his hair as he thinks, narrowing his eyes back down at the paper. “It means you’re looking too into it. That you’re pointing out stuff that isn’t important.”

Or at least, he hopes critical really means that, because Eleven is going to give him hell if it isn’t the exact definition, like many times before.

For now, she seems satisfied by the answer, shaking her head before she points back at the lines. “Not cri… Criti…”

”Critical.”

”Not that.” She drags the paper out from his hands with little effort, once again pointing at the lines. “Careful. Can’t be messy.”

”... Did Hopper teach you that word? I don’t think you’ve ever said careful before…”

He honestly wouldn’t be surprised if she did. From the calendar on the fridge, it’s been nearly, at the very least, six months since Steve had met the girl and Hopper had taken her in. Fall was already fast approaching, with a hint of a cold breeze flowing through the air.

She doesn’t answer his question, narrowing her eyes instead. “Don’t change the subject. You’re messy.”

He snorts at that, a hint of a smile on his face as he takes the paper back. “Oh, so it’s not just the lines that are messy, but me now?”

The girl’s frown only deepens at his words. “Know what I mean.” She then looks down at the paper, once again looking over the dots and lines. “... And why did you write “Nancy”?

Somehow, he pales at her words. Shit, he hadn’t actually expected the kid to actually read it. “W-Well, it… It’s just that she’s a girl I knew.”

The girl’s questioning look doesn’t leave, and he finds himself cursing under his breath. He had a feeling that, for once, his excuse of it being “too personal” wasn’t going to work for once. “She… She was my girlfriend… Although, I think we broke up by the time I…”

He trails off as a thought suddenly strikes him. God, what even happened to Nancy after he died? He had never thought to check on her, mostly because he still had no idea how to get back to Hawkins. There was also that whenever he thought about her, the only thing he could see was her horror filled face as he was dragged through that hole in the ground…

”... Girlfriend?”

He’s dragged out of his thoughts at the girl’s voice, removing the hands that he had, unknowingly, put over his face. “... Oh, you probably don’t know what that means.”

Thankfully, he knew what exactly a girlfriend was. The real problem was describing it to someone like Eleven. “... It’s like… Okay,” He moves his chair just a bit so that he’s facing her more, “so imagine this.”

He holds up two hands, each one having a finger up. “Imagine a boy and a girl meet. They talk for a bit, becomes friends or something, and one of them realizes that they love the other. We good so far?”

At the girl’s slow nod, he continues. “So, the boy asks the girl if they want to be something more than friends. And if she says yes,” He interlocks his fingers together. “Then she becomes his girlfriend, and he becomes her boyfriend.” He lowers his hands into his lap as he leans back into his chair. “You get it?”

The girl remains silent for a few seconds, before she once again slowly nods. “... Like with… Mike?”

”Mike?” Steve glances over to the side a bit as he thinks, confusion on his face. “... Mike..? Wait, wait holy fuck.” He suddenly sits up straight, leaning forward just a bit. “You mean Mike Wheeler?”

Eleven was good at a lot of things, but keeping parts of her feelings a secret wasn’t one of them, clear by how she tries, and fails, to hide a blushing face by looking away.

Steve gives an almost dramatic gasp as he leans forward a bit more. “Holy shit. Holy shit, Mike Wheeler? Nancy’s little brother? Are you fucking joking? Tell me your joking.”

”... Not joking.”

A smile spreads across his face as he leans back into his chair again. “That’s insane, kid. When the hell did you two meet?”

”... Personal.”

Little too late does he realize how uncomfortable the other looked, his joy instantly leaving him at the realization. An awkward air quickly fills the room, and Steve doesn’t quite know what to say.

”... Shit, kid, I’m… I’m sorry. Let’s just…” He pushes the paper off to the side, finally standing up, holding a hand out to the girl. “Let’s give up on learning this whole morse code thing for now and watch some Jeopardy, how does that sound?”

Eleven stares at his hand, and for a split second Steve thinks that she’s going to reject his offer.

His worries are crushed once the girl reaches forward, gently grabbing his hand, giving a small shiver at the cold sensation his hand gives as she gives a small, hesitant nod. “... Okay.”

###### 

He’s in the Byer’s house again.

He nearly spins in his spot in an attempt to figure out why the hell he was here again, only to feel his breath hitch in his throat once he sees the all too familiar tentacles that covered the wall. What looks like dust falling everywhere. Something dark and torn apart on the ground below his feet that he can’t quite see. All of it tinted that dark blue.

He was where he had woken up after he died.

He’s about to scream, to yell out for help, in the hopes that someone was out there. That someone would hear him, that-

_”Harrington.”_

He immediately freezes up at the deep, rumbling, yet somewhat familiar voice that seems to be everywhere. Yet he already, somehow, knows where it’s coming from.

Slowly, he turns to the front door, his breathing uneven, and for once he feels like he’s about the hyperventaliate which is stupid because he can’t _fucking_ breath-

_”Open the door.”_

If he wasn’t so panicked, he’d probably laugh. Why the fuck would the voice expect him to open a door? He’s dead, but it’s not like he’s stupid.

He doesn’t even realize that he’s walking towards the door until he’s standing before it.

He blinks in surprise, or at least tries to.

His hand raises without his command, and it’s only then that he realizes that he has no control over his actions. That something was controlling him.

He opens the door, and standing before him in the forest is a tall, dark, imposing mass covered in clouds that blow gusts of wind throughout the surrounding area. A mass, no, a monster, that had multiple arms that dug into the ground, embedding sharp claws into the Earth.

A monster that was looking right at him, and somehow, without a face, conveys a connived smile.

_”Hello, Harrington.”_

###### 

Steve snaps back to reality with a jolt.

The book that had been in his hands before falls to the ground with a dull thud, and he barely hears Hopper’s questioning voice from outside of Eleven’s room.

He clutches a hand to his chest, gripping tightly onto the shirt as he tries to calm his erratic breathing, his other hand holding on tightly to the arm of the chair.

What the hell was that thing? He wasn’t sleeping. He was sure he wasn’t. He would’ve felt himself passing out, would have remembered slowly shutting his eyes and drifting asleep. God, he couldn’t even sleep, he’s already tried multiple times before.

”Steve.”

His gaze snaps upwards towards Eleven, worry clearly etched across her face, yet still standing a little ways away in the doorway. “... Okay?”

There’s so much he wants to say. His mind scrambles to find the right words to say, and when he finally does, he opens his mouth and says-

”I’m fine.”

What?

Eleven gives him a disbelieving look, one he avoids as his body moves on its own, picking the book up off the ground. “I just thought I saw a rat, but it was just some… I guess it was dust?” He gave a sheepish laugh as he stands back up, book in hand. “Sorry.”

No, this wasn’t what he wanted to say.

”You can go back to Hopper. You still talking to him about what to do for Halloween?”

What was happening to him? He feels like he’s suffocating.

Eleven still has that disbelief on her face, but much less than before, giving a sigh as she nods. “No. About to.”

Another sheepish laugh leaves his mouth. “Alright, you can get back to it.” No, don’t go. Please don’t go. “Sorry for interrupting.”

He’s unable to do anything but watch as Eleven gives him one last disbelieving glance, before she finally turns, shutting the door behind her.

Finally, that suffocating feeling leaves him, and he gives another sharp breath as he stands, looking around the room.

Because even if he knew that there was nothing else in the darkness, he feels that something else is watching him. Examining him. Making sure that he doesn’t tell Eleven what just happened.

That monster he saw flashes in his thoughts for a second, and that’s when he freezes up.

... Was that what was controlling him?

He sits down on the bed as he thinks, elbow on knee and hand in chin, eyes narrowed at the wall in front of him.

If that was true, why him? What exactly was it after? Was it something like that monster that chased him when he first woke up?

He wishes that he could talk to someone about this, but apparently he couldn’t.

In the end, he gives a defeated sigh, mumbling under his breath, as if the monster could hear him. “Alright, you fucking win.” He’ll keep quiet for now until he found out more. Until he knew what the monster wanted. If he found out what the monster wanted was something bad, which was likely because duh, giant monster, then he’d tell Eleven first thing. He was already sick of being controlled, and it’s only happened twice.

Despite his defiant thoughts, he could almost hear the monster chuckling, and he swears that he can see the monster’s smile staring back at him in the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 11: yes i love a boy named mike wheeler  
steve: >:0!!!!! omg.........
> 
> honestly i just love them so much. I hope I gave their characters justice while writing this. I view their bond here as one that resembles one siblings would have. also oooooo my favorite villain in the entire series made his first appearance spooky. anyway, I'll try to update sometime next month, but since valentines day is coming up and im restarting college again, it's probably gonna update near the end of February. so i apologize in advance for the potentially long wait.
> 
> Happy belated holidays and new years everyone. Thank you all so much for reading and once again thank you so much for the feedback. I hope yall have a wonderful day!

**Author's Note:**

> Not as much as I'm used to writing, a little less actually, but eh, what can you do? 
> 
> Like I said before, next chapter will be up later today once I get some sleep lol. Other updates will be once a month. I do hope you enjoy what I've written so far though! This was fun to write so far, and it's fun to write stuff like the demogorgon and just the Upside Down in general. As always, feedback is welcomed/appreciated, and I hope you all have a wonderful day!


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